CHJT Job Description: 2020-21 Reentry Project AmeriCorps VISTA

Job Title: Reentry Project VISTA, October 26, 2020 (or later); AmeriCorps VISTA is a one-year volunteer position. Members receive a monthly living allowance (approximately $514 biweekly), healthcare benefits, some child care benefits, professional development & training, and the choice of an education award of $6,345 or cash stipend of $1,800 at the end of the service year. (For more info about AmeriCorps VISTA please visit www.americorps.gov).

Job Overview: CHJT is a non-partisan organization whose mission is to advance health equity in the criminal justice system. In pursuit of this mission, CHJT provides technical assistance, training, capacity-building and develops innovative projects that work in unison to transform our criminal justice system. We envision a criminal justice system that centers equity, is less punitive, and redefines public safety. That system decriminalizes addiction, mental illness, and poverty, prepares individuals and communities for reentry, and seeks to mitigate the collateral consequences of conviction and incarceration. For more info about CHJT please visit https://healthandjustice.org.

The Center for Health + Justice Transformation (CHJT) has recently begun a new reentry project to help address the gaps in RI's criminal justice system. This project explores and analyzes the opportunities, accessibility, and efficiency of the current reentry resources in RI, with the long-term goal of helping build a coordinated statewide reentry system. The Reentry Project VISTA will support this work by assisting with the RI Reentry Collaborative (RRC), a new community-based reentry initiative coordinated by the Center. This position will work with Center and RRC staff to accomplish tasks and responsibilities directly related to building the RRC's capacity and planning for its long-term sustainability. The Reentry Project VISTA will spend a year of service focusing on four main tasks.

1. Support RI Reentry Collaborative staff and partners throughout the review, modification and launching of its long-term sustainability plan. This includes working with national technical assistance providers; developing reports, print materials and resources; assisting the RRC evaluator in creating an RRC Interim Recidivism Report; assisting with an RRC communications and marketing plan; assisting the RRC employer relations specialist with the production and distribution of resources and materials.

2. Assist the CHJT Reentry Project Director with the development and implementation of a new database to be used by the RRC. This will include researching data collection methods of other community-based reentry collaboratives; working with CHJT staff, partners and vendors to develop a database tailored to meet the needs of the RRC; attending bi-weekly meetings to assist RRC teams; developing a sustainability plan for continued maintenance, updates and adjustments needed for long-term use of the database.

3. Develop a system for the RRC to efficiently collect, summarize and share RRC client-specific data with RRC case managers and staff on a regular basis. This will include completing trainings to become familiar with RI's correctional data systems; assisting the RRC social worker in establishing weekly data metrics; assist with monthly coordination and preparation of client data required for reporting and evaluation purposes; developing procedures for conducting regular quality assurance reviews.

4. Help build the RRC and CHJT's capacity to raise community awareness about prisoner reentry in RI. This will include helping analyze and visualize data related to prisoner reentry and the RRC; assisting CHJT staff with the collection of local data related to the social determinants of health; developing materials, volunteer training tools and plans for conducting a Reentry Simulation (an interactive, educational experience used across the country to help participants understand the real-life issues encountered by reentering people).

Personal Qualifications:

• Excellent computer and technology skills, including data entry, data visualization and database management; Graphic design experience or knowledge helpful
• Strong verbal and written communication skills; High attention to detail
• Well organized; Ability to multi-task and prioritize responsibilities
• Well-developed research and interviewing skills
• Comfort working in collaborative settings with a diverse set of stakeholders
• Commitment to learning about issues related to incarceration & public health

How to Apply: Please send your resume and cover letter to: Heather Gaydos at the Center for Health + Justice Transformation, 1125 North Main Street, 2nd floor, Providence RI 02904; or to heather.gaydos@lifespan.org. Applicants that meet our requirements will be contacted for an interview.

Courtesy of Center for Health + Justice Transformation